The eastern route will take water from the lower reaches of the yangzi river. In addition, the extra water flow through the canal will make it navigable throughout the year prevent deluge due to the transference of water resources from south to north the. The introduction of the southnorth water transfer project in 2002 aimed to alleviate the problem of scarcity among certain areas. China water scarcity environment choking on growth. The water began its journey from upper reaches of the han river, the biggest tributary of the yangtze, on dec. Biggest water transfer project ever benefits 100 million. The southtonorth water diversion project snwdp is the largest national water conservancy project in china. Water from chinas southnorth transfer project flows to.
However, north china contains some of chinas most important city, including. The southtonorth water diversion projectto give the structure its proper nameis the most expensive infrastructure enterprise in the world. The snwtp consistsofaneastroute,amiddleroute, andawestroutethat are designed to deliver water from the south of china to the water. The chinese central government warns that despite existing water saving measures chinas water demand will exceed supply by 2030 gleick, et all, 2009. Workers in dezhou, shandong province, build a canal section of the decadesinthemaking southnorth water transfer project in 2010. The project seeks to promote northern chinas economic growth by relaxing water constraints in a region now facing severe water shortage. The project undertaken by the chinese government was to alleviate the water supply to millions of people. The southnorth water transfer snwt project aims to address the disparity in water. Project of diverting the south water to the north is a multidecade infrastructure mega project in the peoples republic of china. Its eastern route has the capacity to supply up to 14. An unprecedented engineering project sends water to chinas parched north a 20 view of a channel in the middle section of chinas southnorth water diversion project how hwee youngepacorbis. Southnorth water transfer project international rivers. A brief report on the status of the south to north water.
China southnorth water transfer project 2400 kilometers. The southnorth water diversion project began sending emergency water supplies to pingdingshan in midaugust and, according to the official newswire xinhua, the diversion was a. The chinese government has embarked on a massive engineering project to transfer water from the wet south to the dry north. The water balance assignment for the hydrology module 2 p a g e. The southtonorth water transfer project company is the project owner, with preproject construction work being done by hanjiang water resources and hydropower. China has built the worlds largest waterdiversion project. The southtonorth water transfer project has been troubled by pollution and the burden of. Increasing water utilisation here is being addressed by the northsouth carrier nsc water transfer scheme, initiated by the botswana government, not only to meet a fundamental human need, but also as a key requirement for infrastructure development and economic growth. The southtonorth water diversion project in china is the largest of its kind ever undertaken. Chinas water diversion project starts to flow to beijing.
Inequality and what the southnorth water transfer project. The southnorth water transfer project represents an impressive feat in human engineering to bring between 4 and 20 percent of yangzi river water to the waterscarce north china. Using a computable general equilibrium model this study estimates the impact of the project on the economy of china and the rest of the world. This is equivalent to nearly half the amount of water consumed in california annually. Southtonorth water diversion project water technology. The economic impact of the southnorth water transfer. Effects of interbasin water transfer on regional climate. Factboxfacts on chinas southtonorth water transfer project. Water transfer project to divert nearly billion cubic meters of water from the south to north.
It was collected in the danjiangkou reservoir in hubei. Study on water resources allocation in the southtonorth water transfer project 27 to probe scientific and feasible techniques for the operation of er, rowas was designed to realize reasonable allocation from different water sources to various water users. Especially the basins of the yellow, hui and hai rivers in the north are rather dry. Assessing the impacts of southtonorth water transfer. This paper uses a technopolitical approach to analyse chinas southnorth water transfer project. However, the eastern route project erp of snwdp will refer to the habitats of oncomelania hupensis, the intermediate host of schistosoma japonicum. China possesses the fifth largest endowment of fresh water resources in the world, but by per capita standards, it is strained at onethird of the world average. The project was recently reported to have moved 10 billion cubic meters 353 billion cubic feet of fresh water from the countrys south to the arid north in the few years since the project came onstream.
Most environmentalists see the southtonorth water transfer project as a necessary, though not sufficient solution to the severe water shortages suffered in chinas capital and surrounding areasa situation that owes much to weather and climate but which has been compounded by the overdamming of the regions rivers another of maos. Worlds largest river diversion project now pipes water to. Botswanas northsouth carrier water transfer scheme a. Resettlement fears over chinas southnorth water transfer. Project of diverting the south water to the north is a multidecade infrastructure megaproject in the peoples republic of china. Water scarcity is particularly concerning for the semiarid north china plain, which receives only a fraction of the precipitation south china receives. China century project southnorth water transfer project hd 2400 kilometers video. Chinas southtonorth water transfer project currently services a staggering 110 million people in the nations northern areas. Chinas population is concentrated in the countys relatively dry northern. Southnorth water transfer project november 4th, 2014. China aims to finish a vast project to draw water from southern rivers for its dry north by 202014.
The project involves drawing water from southern rivers and supplying it to the dry north. The southtonorth water diversion snwd project would cover over 1,000km of water channels and deliver 25 billion cubic metres of fresh water. Chinas recently completed southnorth water transfer project snwtp2 which. The dams are respectively the 2nd, 3rd and 4th largest in china, behind the massive three gorges dam. At a press briefing on monday, e jingping, director of the office. The southnorth water transfer project is the biggest engineering project in chinese history, and will take water from the yangtze and han rivers in the south to drier areas in the north through the construction of new canals. Cities in chinas north resist tapping water piped from south. Quantity versus quality in chinas southtonorth water diversion.
North water transfer project snwtp is one of the most important water transfer projects in the world. China just opened the worlds largest water diversion project. Courtesy of the foundation for non violent alternatives, an interview with jianxin mu professor at institute of water resources and hydropower research iwhr, ministry of water resources, china and yang yong independent geologist and director of the hengduan mountain research institute on the southnorth water. Chinas southnorth water transfer project snwtp has the potential to transfer as much as 44. North water transfer project after completing a 50. The southtonorth water transfer project is a national key program that deals with water shortage in north china yang and zehnder 2005. Scarcity of water has been a great issue in the region of china. Sending water north this new york times video is named for the southnorth water transfer project. It was developed by a modelling technique for water system simulation accor. Download file to see previous pages finally, with the advent of 20th century need for the development of this project was raised to its peak and hence south to north water transfer project was first started in 2002and more than two routes of this project are being used to transfer water resources of south to north of the country. The water transfer scheme, first envisioned by chairman mao, is an engineering solution to an ecological discrepancy. The present study was aimed at investigating the effects of some factors relating to the water diversion pattern on the. However, it does an excellent job covering some of the overarching challenges regarding.
Social benefits meet the water needs of agricultural and industrial sectors in all of these areas. Pictures of the southtonorth water transfer project. When completed, the southnorth water transfer project will be a truly colossal waterworks, linking up chinas four main riversthe yangzi, yellow, huaihe and haihe riversand diverting water along three canals, the socalled eastern, central, and western routes. However, the snwtp has not been assessed from a sustainability perspective. The south north water transfer project, also translated as the south to north water diversion project chinese. Map of the southnorth water transfer project china. Southnorth water diversion project probe international.
Will this solve chinas water shortage crisis, or create a whole new set of problems. Dezhou, chinaafter spending billions of dollars on a mammoth project to transfer water from chinas wet south to the parched north, the central government is facing a problem. Thus, in this study we evaluated the snwtps economic, social, and environmental impacts by. This project is cheaper than ongoing southnorth water transfer project by at least 100% after considering its solar power plants cost. State media is hailing the success of a huge project to relocate 345,000 people from the path of diversion channels that will carry water from the. If we try to solve our water crisis by diverting water, then new ecological problems will emerge, says chinese official qiu baoxing image by international rivers. Instead, china should plan to use the water resources available in its uplands to transfer water to uplands and mid lands of its tarim river basins for reaping full benefit from its water resources by. Southnorth water transfer project in china ecc platform library. However, as britt crowmiller warns, the band aid solution could have lasting negative effects for south china communities in years to come. Sichuan and yunnan provinces last summer saw the birth of the xiluodu, xiangjia and nuozhadu dams. The water balance assignment for the hydrology module. Chinas southtonorth water transfer project services 110.
The southnorth water transfer snwt project aims to address the disparity in water resource availability between the yangtze and yellow rivers through a series of interbasin transfer canals that could allow for up to 48 billion m3 1. To increase the supply of water in these basins, the southtonorth water transfer project snwt was launched. Threephase water supply plan the implementation of the nsc up. The politics of framing chinas southnorth water transfer project. Chinas southtonorth water transfer project pulitzer. Southnorth water transfer project pros by michelle. The snwd project transports water in two ways see southtonorth water transfer. The south to north water transfer project is one of the four largest transcentury projects in china, which is expected to be completed by 2008. The southnorth water transfer project, also translated as the southtonorth water diversion project chinese. Project management is being performed by the state development and planning commission, the ministry of water resources, the ministry of construction, the state environment protection administration and china international engineering consultant corporation. Great, he wrote the documents of the xia dynasty tell us that emperor yu spent. This massive scheme has already taken 50 years from conception to commencement and is.
Chinas massive southtonorth water diversion project, created to relieve a water crisis in the countrys parched north by tapping its more waterrich south, has produced an unexpected outcome. China has more water in the south than the north and water shortages are becoming a problem in the north. Southnorth water transfer refers to three sets of diversions, the eastern, middle and western routes, each serving separate areas, with the exception of the coastal city of tianjin, which will receive water from both the eastern and middle routes. Copyright 2007 the new york times company the new york times company. Southnorth water transfer project not sustainable, says. China has started the construction of the southtonorth water transfer project. Access to information about the south to north water diversion project in china is provided.
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